would you go for more money?

Ok folks not 100% sure what to do in this coming year.

Basically I’ve been with my current company for 3+ years. All is well and good and I’m fairly happy in my job. However I don’t get paid a lot and there’s no room for progression within the company. Now then I keep getting offered jobs elsewhere. These are +4k minimum and would take me to what I believe i should expect to be earning for a 31 year old engineer. However they are at least 50 miles travel away (each way) so my commute would go from 12 miles a day to 100.

Now im a firm believer in “money isn’t everything” (else i would be working in Aberdeen) but the temptation is getting more and more. Im now thinking a few years at getting more cash would help go towards a deposit for a slightly bigger house (got a very very small house atm) or a new bike but realistically would you give up the security for the extra cash?

Stay put. The grass is always greener. £4 - £5K isn't much, by the time it's taxed you'll be spending it all on fuel to get to and from work so you won't be any better off. Your car/bike will depreciate very quickly. Plus you'll be forever on the road, tired, and no time to yourself. You have secure employment, you're entitled to a (small) redundancy payment, they're people you know, and it's not far from home.

or you could play it.. I don't recommend it, but all your current work place's bluff, accept the other job, tell ur work place and see if they really value you and want to keep you...

Its risky but can be worth it.. I have done it once and didn't regret it but cant see myself doing it again..

I agree with Ed. The costs/taxes would cancel out any real monetary benefit.

[Luckypants]

Yes.


If your current employer is not willing to pay the going rate for experienced engineers then go to one who is. The only worry you seem to have is the job security and if you do your homework on the new employer you should be able to reassure yourself that they have the work pipeline to keep you busy and thus secure in your job. (I'm assuming that your current employer is in this enviable position).

The commute may well a ball ache at this time of year, but 50 miles is not too bad. The thing you really have to think about is time, when contracting I set a limit of 1.5 hours and for permanent jobs an hour. I used to do 160 miles a day to my previous job, but mainly on the motorway and used to average an hour and a quarter for the trip. After moving to back to Wales that dropped to 120 a day and but the time taken was the same. This was the absolute maximum I could stand for a commute and made for quite a long day.

The other thing you may want to consider is wear and tear on your vehicle. The increased costs of your commute may well eat away your salary increase completely, so you need to cost that carefully (including depreciation, increased insurance etc). If you end up no better off then it's whether the improved prospects for progression make the move worthwhile.

Finally there is a social cost to long commutes. You get tired and crabby in the week if you are not careful, which makes you no fun to live with. Nights out in the week have to be handled carefully and drinking is not really an option.

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by AndyBrad

However they are at least 50 miles travel away (each way) so my commute would go from 12 miles a day to 100.

Apart from you'd not gain much finaicially, you'd never recoup the time spent on commuting.

Petrols going up in Jan, plus VAT. No doubt road tax will also go up as well.

If you cycled to work in the spring & summer, you'd save a fair chunk of money

[G]

Hmmm tough one.

I've been in a similar circumstance.

I was sick of my job (unlike you), and totally underpaid.

I took a job in rotherham (**** hole)... working for a consultancy. I thought the grass was greener so when I was offered £6k more than I was already on I jumped at it. I worked there for 4 days before realising I had made the biggest mistake ever. I hated the people, I hated the journey and I hated the way the entire company operated. My previous employer was more than happy to take me back... but they had me well and truely over a barrel.

I spent the next year looking for jobs being very very picky about what I went for, the interviews came easy but I never took the jobs after them as I wasn't 100% convinced I would be 'happy'.

Then I got offered the job I do now, it was a 100% pay rise, much better car, huge company, amazing opportunities, amazing benefits and great people to work with. I probably work 60+ hours a week, but I earn double what I used to, I can afford things I never could before, I get a nice car and I get to travel all over.

HOWEVER, none of that is what is important... I now actually love my job, for the first time ever I actually look forwards to going back to work on a Monday, I don't mind working late or working away out of the country for long periods.

Money and material things are NOT important, you need to be happy, you need to enjoy your job and you need to enjoy company of the people around you.

I would just say think carefully.

HTH

pack it all in Andy and be a tramp..


you already have the clothes for it !

[Bri w]

I thought you were a lot older

32 miles extra each way is going to cost you about £15 a day x 222 working days = £3300. You'll get approx +£4k, less tax and n.i., which is going to put you about £500 worse off per year, or £10 a week. So there goes the idea of a new house/bike/car.

Might look good on your cv, and be a stepping stone for something else.

If you're happy were you are, and can't get a least £6k extra if you move, I'd stay where you are.

Time-wise I agree with LP, the commute is not bad at all.

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by Quiff Wichard

pack it all in Andy and be a tramp..


you already have the clothes for it !

Andy, it's work to live, not live to work - if you're financially stable I'd stay, not because it's secure (our jobs went from secure to flakey in the space of a month or so earlier this year) but because, as others have said, the extra money will quickly disappear into fuel and running costs, and you'll lose the time of commuting the distance, which is irreplaceable IMO...

It sucks getting paid less than you should (I know as I've been there and been twice denied an increase despite my direct superior almost going apoplectic at the higher ups) but a financially responsible person with a lower salary will always end up better off than a big spender whose answer to financial trouble is "I need to earn more"

Just my 2p